By Hotgist9ja News Desk | Breaking News | Nigeria
Photo Credit: Punch Newspaper
The Ozoro festival story just took a major new turn — and it is one that is going to divide Nigerians opinion all over again.
When videos of women being stripped, chased and assaulted during the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro, Delta State went viral last week, the narrative was clear and the outrage was immediate. Social media erupted. Rights groups condemned it. Lawyers called for arrests. Nigerians demanded justice. The hashtag #StopRapingWomen trended for hours.
Now the Delta State Police Command has stepped forward with a statement that complicates the picture significantly — and raises questions that neither side of the debate is going to find easy to answer.
Police spokesperson SP Bright Edafe appeared on Channels Television's The Morning Brief on Monday morning and said something that stopped many Nigerians mid-scroll, SP Bright said: none of the four victims interviewed by the police said they were raped. No official rape report has been filed. And the festival contrary to what many social media posts claimed, was not, according to police, designed as a vehicle for sexual violence at all.
But here is what nobody is disputing: 16 people are in custody. Women were assaulted. Videos exist. And the festival has been permanently banned by Delta state Government.
What The Police Spokesman Actually Said — The Full Quotes
SP Bright Edafe was direct and detailed in his words appearance on Channels Television. His words from a legal observation deserve to be reported in full — because they carry significant legal and factual weight.
On the rape allegations:
"It is important to state clearly that among the four girls that were interviewed yesterday, no one, not even one of them, said they were raped. Up till this very moment, we have not had any official reports that anybody was raped."
— SP Bright Edafe, Delta State Police PRO, on Channels Television
On how the police will approach charges:
"The law does not work on emotions. The law works on available evidence and statements of witnesses. For the fact that we have not had a witness who says 'I was raped', and the evidence does not show that anybody was raped, sexual assault is what we would be investigating."
— SP Bright Edafe said
On what the festival actually was:
"It was not a rape festival. It was a festival organised by a chief priest to pray for barren women seeking the fruit of the womb."
— SP Bright Edafe
On the chief priest's culpability:
"The chief priest's negligence has led to the sexual assault of these innocent girls."
— SP Bright Edafe
On who was not informed about the festival:
"For reasons best known to them, the traditional ruler of Ozoro Kingdom was not informed, the students' union was not informed, and the school management was not informed. They also did not inform the police."
— SP Bright Edafe
On the possibility of rape charges being added later:
"Our legal team is reviewing the case file and will determine the appropriate charges based on the evidence before us. If, at any point, additional witnesses come forward with claims of rape, such charges will be added."
— SP Bright Edafe
The 16 Suspects — Who Is In Custody And How They Got to police
While the rape question remains legally unsettled, the question of arrests has been answered decisively. A total of 16 suspects are now in police custody — and the number got there in two phases.
The first five — including the chief priest of Oramutu Quarters who organised the festival — were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the videos going viral. An additional 11 suspects were then identified through painstaking analysis of the viral video footage itself — their faces visible in the clips that had been shared across Nigerian social media.
All 16 have been transferred from the local command to the Delta State Command Headquarters in Asaba, where they are being investigated by the DC State Criminal Investigation Department. The message from police is clear: the videos are evidence, and being in those videos has consequences.
Edafe also added a striking detail — that individuals who may not have directly participated in the physical assaults could still face charges:
"Individuals who may not have directly participated in the assault could still face charges for failing to prevent a breakdown of law and order."
— SP Bright Edafe
The Palace Speaks — "This Was Never Sanctioned By Tradition"
The Ozoro Kingdom Palace — represented by His Royal Majesty Anthony Ogbogbo, Ibuka I (JP), the Ovie of Ozoro Kingdom — issued a statement condemning the violence and making a firm separation between the cultural festival and the criminal acts that occurred within it.
The palace described the harassment and intimidation of women during the festival as "unacceptable" and "contrary to the kingdom's values" — and warned against misinformation circulating on social media that such actions were ever sanctioned by tradition.
The palace distanced itself from the events, acknowledged the cultural significance of the Alue-Do festival as a fertility rite, but emphasised that tradition must never be used to justify abuse or misconduct.
The Attorney-General Visits The Police Commissioner — A Signal
In a development that signals the seriousness with which the Abia State Government is approaching this matter, the Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole SAN, personally visited the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Aina Adesola, at the Command Headquarters in Asaba on Monday — leading a delegation from the AG's office.
He commended the police for their swift response and made the government's position unmistakably clear:
"Justice must be served and appropriate punishment would serve as a deterrent to others."
— Ekemejero Ohwovoriole SAN, Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice
Commissioner of Police Aina Adesola confirmed that the investigation team had been directed to ensure the swift prosecution of all suspects directly involved in the incident.
The Community Voice — "This Has Never Happened In Ozoro"
The President-General of the Ozoro Progress Union, Asiafa Berkeley, also spoke publicly — and his words add important community context to the police account.
"This has never happened in Ozoro. No one authorised those youths to carry out such acts."
— Asiafa Berkeley, President-General, Ozoro Progress Union, speaking on Channels Television
Berkeley rejected claims that the festival promotes sexual violence, explaining that the Alue-Do is traditionally a prayer festival for women seeking fertility — and maintained that the actions captured in the viral videos were criminal acts by individuals, not part of the cultural practice.
The Festival Is Banned — Permanently
Whatever debate continues about the nature of the events — the Delta State Government has already delivered its verdict on the festival itself. The Alue-Do festival has been permanently banned. It will not be held again.
The state government also condemned the incident in the strongest terms, stressing — as its information commissioner Charles Aniagwu had said in the immediate aftermath — that cultural practices cannot excuse criminal behaviour.
Victims have been assured of government support: medical care, compensation for lost property and psychological assistance are all being provided, according to police.
The Question Nigeria Cannot Stop Asking
The police statement has done something important — it has introduced legal precision into a conversation that was running entirely on emotion. And that precision matters. In a society governed by law, the difference between rape and sexual assault carries enormous legal weight. The police are right that charges must be based on evidence.
But the broader question that Nigerians — particularly Nigerian women — are asking goes beyond the specific charges that will eventually be filed. It is the question that was being asked before the police statement, and that has not been answered by the police statement.
Why does a festival exist — anywhere in Nigeria — where women are expected to disappear from public spaces or face consequences? Who designed that tradition? Who benefited from it? And why did it take viral videos and national outrage for anyone in authority to act?
The festival has been banned. Sixteen people are in custody. The attorney-general is personally involved. These are all the right responses. But the rights groups and women's advocates who have been speaking since last week are pointing at something deeper — a cultural architecture that, even without rape, still produced an outcome where women were chased, stripped and assaulted in broad daylight.
That conversation — the one that goes beyond the specific charges and the specific festival — is the one Nigeria still needs to have.
In Pidgin — As Naija People Dey See Am
So the police come out on Monday and talk say — none of the four girls wey dem interview say dem rape them. No official rape report exist. The festival na fertility prayer, not rape festival. But 16 people dey custody and the festival don ban permanently.
Naija divide again sharp sharp. One side say — you see? The police confirm say no rape happen. People don exaggerate the whole thing. The other side say — rape or no rape, women were chased, stripped and assaulted on the street in broad daylight. That alone is criminal. That alone is enough.
Both sides get point. The law must follow evidence — that is true. And sexual assault is a serious crime even without rape — that is also true.
But the biggest question wey nobody dey answer is this: how far back does this tradition go? How many years have women been hiding indoors during this festival because they were afraid of what would happen if they came out? And how many of those women — in all those previous years — never reported anything because they knew nobody would listen?
Sixteen people dey custody. Festival don ban. Justice dey come. But the conversation about what allowed this to happen in the first place — that one no don finish yet. 🦅🇳🇬
📲 Follow Hotgist9ja on WhatsApp for instant breaking news updates: Click Here To Join Our WhatsApp Channel
Sources: Punch, Channels Television, PM News, The Telegraph Nigeria, Nigeria Info FM, QED.ng, OsunDefender